Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol

Abstract It is now possible to efficiently fix flue gas CO/CO2 into ethanol using acetogens, thereby making carbon negative ethanol. While the ethanol could be burned as a fuel, returning the CO2 to the atmosphere, it might also be possible to use the fixed carbon in more diverse chemicals, thereby...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hongjiang Liu, James U. Bowie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-05-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88899-w
id doaj-b7187d1dcdff4a3e914f8a1b4e8e652a
record_format Article
spelling doaj-b7187d1dcdff4a3e914f8a1b4e8e652a2021-05-09T11:32:43ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222021-05-0111111010.1038/s41598-021-88899-wCell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediolHongjiang Liu0James U. Bowie1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA-DOE Institute, University of CaliforniaDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA-DOE Institute, University of CaliforniaAbstract It is now possible to efficiently fix flue gas CO/CO2 into ethanol using acetogens, thereby making carbon negative ethanol. While the ethanol could be burned as a fuel, returning the CO2 to the atmosphere, it might also be possible to use the fixed carbon in more diverse chemicals, thereby keeping it fixed. Here we describe a simple synthetic biochemistry approach for converting carbon negative ethanol into the synthetic building block chemical 1,3 butanediol (1,3-BDO). The pathway completely conserves carbon from ethanol and can ultimately be powered electrochemically via formate oxidation. Our proof-of-principle system reached a maximum productivity of 0.16 g/L/h and, with replenishment of feedstock and enzymes, achieved a titer of 7.7 g/L. We identify a number of elements that can be addressed in future work to improve both cell-free and cell-based production of 1,3-BDO.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88899-w
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Hongjiang Liu
James U. Bowie
spellingShingle Hongjiang Liu
James U. Bowie
Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
Scientific Reports
author_facet Hongjiang Liu
James U. Bowie
author_sort Hongjiang Liu
title Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
title_short Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
title_full Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
title_fullStr Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
title_full_unstemmed Cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
title_sort cell-free synthetic biochemistry upgrading of ethanol to 1,3 butanediol
publisher Nature Publishing Group
series Scientific Reports
issn 2045-2322
publishDate 2021-05-01
description Abstract It is now possible to efficiently fix flue gas CO/CO2 into ethanol using acetogens, thereby making carbon negative ethanol. While the ethanol could be burned as a fuel, returning the CO2 to the atmosphere, it might also be possible to use the fixed carbon in more diverse chemicals, thereby keeping it fixed. Here we describe a simple synthetic biochemistry approach for converting carbon negative ethanol into the synthetic building block chemical 1,3 butanediol (1,3-BDO). The pathway completely conserves carbon from ethanol and can ultimately be powered electrochemically via formate oxidation. Our proof-of-principle system reached a maximum productivity of 0.16 g/L/h and, with replenishment of feedstock and enzymes, achieved a titer of 7.7 g/L. We identify a number of elements that can be addressed in future work to improve both cell-free and cell-based production of 1,3-BDO.
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88899-w
work_keys_str_mv AT hongjiangliu cellfreesyntheticbiochemistryupgradingofethanolto13butanediol
AT jamesubowie cellfreesyntheticbiochemistryupgradingofethanolto13butanediol
_version_ 1714600626207326208